Equivalent Exchange Challenge 1
by Kitsanken
Summary: Beginning LineSighing Wriny knew what she needed, a good screw!Ending LineBlushing she softly thanked the Flame Alchemist for his help.ONESHOT EdXWin


**Full Metal Alchemist Fanfiction**

_Full Metal Alchemist © HIROMU ARAKAWA/SQUARE ENIX, MBS, ANX, BONES, Dentsu, CARTOON NETWORK (A Time Warner Company), ADULT SWIM, FUNimation Productions, Ltd._

_All Fanfics created by Chiruken (me) were written for the sole purpose of shared entertainment and not intended for publication or sale._

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**Equivalent Exchange Challenge **

**By: Chiruken**

**#1**

**6/6/05**

Sighing, Winry knew what she needed, a good screw!

Tossing her favourite screwdriver to the side, she sent her best glare towards the young man currently reclining on the gurney in her workshop before stomping across the room to rummage through the cabinet where she kept spare parts for his auto-mail, grumbling under her breath the whole time. Pointedly, she ignored the other presence in the workshop, Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist.

Things had progressively gotten increasingly tense between herself and her childhood friend, Edward Elric. It wasn't really a tension that she could readily put a name to, but it always left her feeling helplessly flustered and abnormally irritated. _It really wouldn't be so bad_, she mused, _except for those damned dreams._ For the last six months or so…give or take a few days here and there…her nights had been plagued with disturbing dreams that left her flushed and yearning for…_something_. What that something was…well, she had a fairly good idea of what it could be. After all, she wasn't an empty headed ninny…she fully understood what was happening to her. Of course, knowing what it was and knowing how to take care of the problem were two entirely different things.

Pulling out the tray containing a wide variety of screws, Winry paused in the act of choosing the best to replace the one that had been stripped through Ed's routine carelessness. Tilting her head to the side, she glanced over her shoulder and observed him for a moment. Just one look at him and she could feel her knees go weak. Shaking her head, she tried to return her attention back to the task at hand. "I just need one good screw…" She muttered under her breath, willing her body to stop sending inappropriate signals to her brain at an inopportune like this.

"Eh? What was that?"

"She said, she could use a good screw." She turned a startled gaze on the colonel as she felt her face heat with an embarrassed flush. She had a sneaking suspicion that if she were to look in a mirror at that moment her face would be fairly close to the same colour as Ed's coat. "Is this a good time for me to leave?"

"What!" Ed's incredulous shout emerged simultaneously with her own. They glanced at each other for a moment in surprise before quickly looking away. She stared at the floor for a moment before her eyes widened. An instant later her blue gaze narrowed thoughtfully. It suddenly occurred to her that she could use this situation to her advantage if she played her cards right. "No!" She felt a twinge of hurt at the force of his desperate shout.

Slowly, she turned. "Yes." She stated emphatically, ignoring the way the colonel's eyebrow rose a notch and his lips twitched as if he were suppressing a smile.

"Very well." He turned towards his subordinate and allowed a slightly mocking smirk to curve his lips upwards. "I believe I'm leaving you in capable hands." As Ed spluttered incoherently he turned for the door. "Falman will be relieved to know that he is no longer required to complete this particular assignment." With that cryptic statement, the colonel quickly made his exit, leaving the two alone in the workshop.

Wiping her hands on her overalls, Winry turned slowly to face the young man currently staring at the door with a look of shock on his face. When she cleared her throat, his gaze snapped back to her. "Uh…Winry…" He began hesitantly, but she didn't give him a chance to continue.

"Ed…what do you think of me?" She asked softly, hands clasped tightly together behind her back.

"What?" He shook his head sharply. "What kind of question is that?"

Drawing in a deep, fortifying breath, she plunged ahead before her courage could fail her. "How do you see me?"

He frowned at her in obvious confusion. "I don't…" He began slowly, but again she cut him off.

"Am I just your mechanic?"

His eyes widened. "Of course not!" He paused and frowned for a moment. "Well, you're a great mechanic, but that isn't all I see you as."

Hope filled her at his words and a pleased flush stained her cheeks as she smiled brightly. "Really?" She leaned closer to him, holding her breath as she fixed her shining gaze on him.

"Well, yeah…I mean, you're a friend, too, you know."

She felt her heart plummet. "A…friend?" She repeated in a whisper.

"Sure." Once again he paused and frowned, seeing how her expression fell. "Um…a good friend…" Becoming alarmed at the way her eyes seemed to fill with tears he held up his hands and hastened to clarify. "A really good friend."

"I see." She sighed dejectedly. "A friend." Turning away quickly, she fought to control the quivering of her bottom lip and rapidly blinked back the tears that threatened to fall.

"Winry?" Swinging his legs off the gurney, he stood and watched as she fiddled with the tools on the table, her back to him. When she didn't answer he slowly closed the distance between them and rested his hand on her shoulder, frowning when he felt the slight tremors coursing through her body. "Did I say something wrong?"

_Yes!_ Her heart cried out silently. "No." She whispered softly, cursing inwardly when a couple tears caught on her eyelashes and fell when she blinked.

His hand tightened fractionally on her shoulder when he heard the huskiness in her voice, a sure sign that she was crying. "Are you upset with me?"

_Yes, you idiot!_ "No." She bowed her head, willing the tears to stop before he could see them and ask awkward question.

He tugged on her shoulder, trying to get her to turn around and face him. When she resisted he lifted the other arm, the auto-mail she'd worked so hard on to create for him and placed it on her other shoulder. "If I didn't say anything wrong…and you're not upset with me…" He paused and gently forced her to turn to face him, though she stared down at the floor and refused to meet his concerned gaze. "Then why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying." More tears sprang to her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.

"Well…" He grasped her chin with his right hand and gently lifted her face up. "Maybe you should have someone check the roof, then."

She blinked passed the blur of her tears and stared at him in confusion. "What?"

"Since you're not crying, obviously the roof's leaking." For the life of him, he couldn't understand what she was so upset about. But he hated to see her cry. It did odd things to him, made his heart feel heavy and his stomach twist into knots. Without thinking, he leaned forward and gently brushed his lips against hers, something he'd wanted to do for quite some time now but always suppressed the urge, not wanting to face rejection. After all, what could he feasibly offer her? His body bore the ravages of the unforgivable sins he'd committed. Until he found the Philosopher's Stone and restored his brother's body, he could never erase the guilt he carried deep within his heart. This burden was too much to ask Winry to bear and he couldn't ask her to. With these thoughts in mind, he broke off the kiss and took a quick step back. "Winry…I-I'm sorry…"

With a determined gleam in her eyes she moved forward quickly and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down for another kiss, this one not quite so sweet and gentle as his had been. Pulling back for only a moment, she whispered against his lips. "Any one ever tell you that you talk to much?" She brushed her lips against his again. "Just shut up and kiss me, Ed."

Some time later, Winry stepped out of the workshop, pulling her long blonde hair back into its customary ponytail. Looking up, her sparkling gaze fell on the colonel where he stood against the wall with his hands in his pockets. Turning her steps, she walked passed him towards the house. Blushing, she softly thanked the Flame Alchemist for his help.

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_**End**_

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